Lung
Lung, real name Kenta, was a parahuman and the leader of the Azn Bad Boys. Appearance Lung was a little over six feet tall, a half-Chinese, half-Japanese man.Interlude 6 He was muscular, but not superhumanly so. Sprawling tattoos covered his body from the neck down, all depicting dragons from Eastern mythology. He wore a pair of jeans, and often went without a shirt.Gestation 1.3Venom 29.3 The light brown of his eyes was permanently surrounded by an expanse of bloodshot red instead of whites. For a costume he wore an ornate metal maskGestation 1.3Venom 29.3 made of steel, resembling a dragon. His eyes were visible behind it.It was an image of Lung in his human shape, his eye sockets dark, raw and empty behind his steel dragon mask, his hand on one of his gang members’ shoulder. - Excerpt from Tangle 6.2 In the Birdcage, he wore the standard grey cotton clothing, but tore the sleeves off his shirt to expose his arms. He had more dragon tattoos done while in the Birdcage, and grew his hair longer. Lung spoke in a deep, gravelly, commanding voice as a result of the changes his power made to his body. He had a strong accent. Taylor noted that "for someone as brutal and vicious as he was in the heat of battle, Lung had cold eyes." When his power was in effect, Lung slowly transformed into a dragon-like creature with metal scales. Lung's transformation made his eyes glow orange, like molten metal.Venom 29.4Speck 30.1 He would sometimes lose his mask in serious fights, revealing a catlike face with four mouthparts in an X shape, which made it difficult for him to speak when heavily transformed. Personality Dragon described Lung as having a "veneer of civility over a feral core self". Marquis described him similarly, and noted that he had broken the "unspoken code" of parahumans.Interlude 16 (Donation Bonus 3) Taylor Hebert considered it plausible that he would take a group of gangsters to go shoot some kids based solely on his reputation. Marquis noted that Lung had excellent instincts, although he was better in a fight than over the course of a war. Unconventionally, Lung made it his mission to absorb all the Asian gangs in his territory, regardless of nationality. This was at least partly motivated by the discrimination he faced as a half-Chinese man in prison, which affected him deeply. He believed that there was no point in fighting the Endbringers, as they could not be killed. He felt they were better regarded as forces of nature. he preferred to just rule his section of Brockton Bay uncontested.Lung has a high classification but a relatively low level of ambition. He had one powered minion (until early 2011 when he recruited Bakuda) and sought primarily to hold the docks as his territory. He ruled like a lesser king, had prostitutes and sex slaves, a protection racket and drug dealing, but he wasn’t fighting for a footing downtown. For all his (potential) power, he’d settled into a role as a street thug and gang leader. In terms of actual fighting, he also has to hold his own long enough to transform, and that’s sometimes tricky. - Comment by Wildbow on Cell 22.4 Lung claimed that he had grown too used to power to bow and scrape for any length of time, although he was exceptionally polite at first while in prison. He prefered to be seen as a madman. He had a strong belief in the power of fear; he was content to remain a seemingly minor villain in Brockton Bay because everyone there knew and feared him, allowing him to slowly grow his reputation without fear. During his Interlude, he thought to himself that his power's greatest drawback was the risk that he might die before he grew strong enough. He made a vow to himself that he would never die, never lose a fight. He resolved to always defeat those who insulted him. Taylor suspected that he would resent her succeeding where he failed more than his defeats at her hands. Relationships Oni Lee was Lung's "flunky" in the ABB, and his only parahuman subordinate for a time. His subordinates in the ABB didn't protest when he grabbed them, even when it was painful. He occasionally lapsed into another language when speaking to them. Bakuda joined the ABB just before the story began. His relationship with the half-White parahuman was influenced by his mixed-race background. Abilities and Powers Lung's power caused him to gradually transform, making his powers more potent the longer he was in a fight. He healed at a superhuman rate, got stronger, got tougher, got bigger, and he grew armor plating complete with blades at each fingertip. His power granted him additional strength, durability, regeneration and control over fire even in his ordinary form. His scales resembled knives or spades.Gestation 1.5 Transformation Lung's physical transformation began with scales growing over part of his body, providing armor. His fingertips sprouted claws. After a short while, his back would abruptly grow, sprouting scales and making him grow a foot taller. By the time he was seven or eight feet tall, his shoulders were easily three feet across, and he was completely covered in scales. He was still able to speak normally, and he was still vulnerable to pepper spray, although it wore off unusually quickly. He was strong enough to make Bitch's dogs rear back from the impact.Gestation 1.5 The dogs were able to subdue him, although he was weakened somewhat by the venom from Skitter's bugs.Gestation 1.6 He grew wings if he fought long enough, although this was only a rumor to the public. By the time he was nearly fifteen feet tall, spear-like wing-nubs stuck out of his shoulders. His voice was distorted; the shape of his skull and face were more catlike than human, and his nose and mouth were a single X-shaped opening, bristling with pointed teeth that stuck in every direction.Hive 5.8 His neck alone was nearly as long as Taylor's torso and thicker at the base, tapering down to a more or less normal sized head. He could bend his neck in a ‘u’ shape to look behind himself. He was strong enough to leap to the rafters of a warehouse, and to throw one of Bitch's dogs across the room. He employed martial-arts-like throws, which Taylor speculated might be a result of enhanced reflexes and flexibility rather than skill. His fingers were tipped with foot-long blades. His armour could be penetrated by Kaiser's blades, but he was tough enough to survive even serious wounds. Lung's wings then unfurled, batlike with silvery scales where the bat had fur, and dark red flesh that stretched between the ‘fingers’ of the wings. His entire midsection rearranged so he stood another foot or two taller. He was faster, stronger, more maneuverable.Hive 5.9 By the time he was as large as Leviathan - that is, thirty feet tall - he had four wings, four hands, and two digitigrade feet. He was bristling with layers upon layers of silver scales.Venom 29.2 At the most extreme end of his transformation he was larger than Leviathan and capable of trading blows with an Endbringer; four wings extended from his back. There wasn’t a hard upper limit to how strong he could get.Comment by Wildbow on Interlude 22 Although Taylor believed that Lung "only started returning to normal when there was nobody left to fight", his power began to leave him during his fight with Leviathan. His passenger decided when a situation had enough conflict to warrant transformation (and expenditure of the passenger's energy reserve).Lung doesn't actually run on adrenaline spoiler permalinkembedparent Comment by Wildbow on Reddit He transformed faster against more formidable or numerous opponents.Bulletbrainsurgery: Can't find the exact quote at the moment, but I think it's implied in his interlude that he ramps up faster when there are capes around. Wildbow: Yep - conversation with Wildbow on Reddit Enemies hidden by Mantellum's powers didn't provoke Lung's ability, even if he could see them. Anticipating a fight, Lung could build up a charge to accelerate the rate of his transformation. He could feel the scales and heat building up inside him. When he was on the brink of transforming, his eyes glowed orange and scales stood out under his skin like hives. Venom 29.5 Pyrokinesis Lung could create flame out of thin air, shape it, intensify it, and so on. This ability became stronger as he transformed. His power was partially inhibited by tranquilizers, damp, and cold. Even under their effects, without transforming, he was still able to heat a metal strip white-hot. He could light a flame in his hands without transforming. Early in a fight, with only a portion of his body covered in armor, he was able to fire jets of fire into the sky and create localized explosions that burned everyone around him.Gestation 1.4 By the time he was a foot taller, he was capable of keeping himself constantly on fire. When he was fifteen feet tall, his fire was blue-yellow and hot enough to soften steel. At sixteen or seventeen feet tall, his "explosion" was ten times as large and hot as before. He was able to disrupt Sundancer's attempts to form her miniature sun, and create a huge torrent of flame large enough to hide his form and engulf her. When he was thirty feet tall, his power resembled Sundancer's, and melted sand on contact. At the most extreme end of his transformation, when he was larger than Leviathan, he burned so hot that the steel-like flesh just beneath Leviathan’s skin was blackening and charring to ash by proximity alone. He could create a small flame in his hand and hold it, or hurl fireballs through the air. Lung was immune to his own fire, and possibly resistant to fire generally, but this wasn't widely known. However, even combined with his superhuman stamina, this didn't fully protect him from the intense heat produced by Sundancer's power. Healing Lung could heal almost any injury, given time, provided it didn't kill him outright. It would take him about a month to regrow a limb. By the time he was sixteen feet tall, he could shrug off a spear through his heart. His eyes had partly grown back by the time he was tried, taking over a week to heal. When fighting Leviathan, he rapidly recovered from a blow from the Endbringer that shattered bones and organs, even though he wasn't yet strong enough to hurt the Endbringer. By the time he was half the size of the monster - that is, fifteen feet tall - he was able to trade blows with it, not hitting as hard as Leviathan but healing faster than it did. Lung's healing made him resistant, but not totally immune, to toxins. His healing could be "overloaded" if he overdosed with drugs, overwhelming his healing abilities by forcing them to focus entirely on fighting off the poison. This allowed Skitter's poisons to do more damage than they usually would while he was fighting off tranquilizers.Comment by Wildbow on Interlude 12.5 His flesh would decompose without a connection to his brain.Comment by Wildbow on Plague 12.1 Senses By the time he had grown a foot taller, Lung had significantly enhanced hearing. Venom 29.6 This aspect of his powers was not widely known. History Background Kenta joined Daiichi's Gang while he was in school. Daiichi found out about a drug deal and planned to interrupt it and take the money that was being used to pay for the drugs. Lung realized shortly after they attacked that they could not take on Contessa, but was not able to get Daiichi to listen to him. He was taken down by Contessa who then attempted to suffocate him by keeping his face pressed down in the drugs. He ingested some of the drug and then triggered after realizing that he might be having a heart attack. He pretended to be dead until Contessa left. He got up and found the other members of his gang dead or dying before holding Arata's hand until he died. When Leviathan attacked Kyushu, Lung watched and waited for his power to make him strong enough to fight the Endbringer. A Sentai Elite asked him about whether he was a hero or villain before he told her that he was neither and that she should be fighting. She told him about her power and he told himself that he was going to fight. When he noticed Leviathan was occupied, he charged into battle. He eventually became capable of battling Leviathan by himself and fought the Endbringer for an indiscriminate period of time. Eventually, he began to weaken because of the lack of something to fuel his power with. Leviathan broke away and retreated into the ocean and Lung, being unable to swim, was retrieved by Alexandria. After the battle Protectorate repeatedly tried to recruit Kenta, but he turned down all offers, believing that Endbringers cannot die. Three years later, Lung and his mother moved to Chaohu. After two years there he was arrested by the Yangban. He learned the rules of prison and bowed his head to a leader of the prison who used him in a war against another. He was placed in higher security where he attacked a man bringing him food, nearly escaping the prison until Tōng Líng Tǎ captured him and then trapped him in the base of a pit he could not escape. Every two weeks he was asked to join The Yangban and reveal his connections with americans. After enduring it for year and four month Kenta realized that this will not stop and the Yangban would eventually erode his will and steal his powers, so he decided to risk it for a chance to break out. Lung eventually escaped the Yangban and travelled to Brockton Bay where he joined the Azn Bad Boys. He defeated the local heroes and number of other gangs, one of which he recruited Oni Lee from. He made it a mission to conquer and absorb every gang with Asian members and many without. Once he had the manpower he needed, the non-Asian gangs were cannibalized for assets, their members discarded. Soon after reaching Brockton Bay, Lung fought defeated a Protectorate team consisting of Armsmaster, Dauntless, Miss Militia, Velocity, Challenger, Assault and Battery. He suffered a number of minor defeats at the hands of various teams, including the Guild, the local Protectorate and Wards, and New Wave, but consistently managed to evade capture, fighting whole teams of heroes at once. Story Start Lung exited a building alongside his underlings who then gathered around as he told them how they should deal with the Undersiders. He then attacked the sudden swarm of insects that descended on them before detonating in a blast of rolling heat to kill the insects that came at him. He detonated again before lashing out when he saw the insects again. He detonated again after a wasp stung his eyelid and roared. A honeybee stung his eye before he covered himself from head-to-toe in flame and began to look for his assailant. His enhanced hearing picked up on the sound of crunching gravel and he whirled around to see a figure standing atop a nearby building before roaring victoriously. Lung jumped across the street and onto the building his assailant was hiding on and started to climb up. When he got to the top, his shoulder was grazed by pepper spray which then erupted into a short-lived fireball. He was then struck in the face with the spray and he screamed. He stumbled but managed to stay on the roof so that, when the pain passed, he hauled himself over the edge of the roof. He lashed out with a broad wave of flame before demanding that his assailant make some noise so he could find them. Then, he wiped his eyes and spotted the Undersiders atop a nearby roof from firing at them. He was forced to his knees when one of Bitch's enhanced dogs landed on him before he smacked its snout, forcing it back. It then rhino-charged him which sent them both tumbling off the roof where they then crashed onto the street. He fought the dog for a while before Bitch sent her other two dogs down to assist it. Together, they managed to defeat him before leaving him on the street. Lung was later found by Armsmaster who had arrived on his bike. He tranquillized lung before welding a steel cage around him as a temporary restraint. He was then taken by Armsmaster and put into PRT custody where he received medical treatment. Lung got in contact with one of Bakuda's spies in the PRT and had them relay the story of his defeat to her.Shell 4.10 Oni Lee helped him escape during the subsequent bombings around the city before he was reinstated as the leader of the Azn Bad Boys.Shell 4.11 When he overheard someone talking about the name the PRT gave Skitter, he spread it through the city and said that he was looking for her.Hive 5.2 Lung was inside one of the Azn Bad Boys' warehouse when the coalition of Brockton Bay's other gangs attacked. He ripped a hole in the warehouse wall and followed his thugs inside before Kaiser entered. He lunged at Kaiser, but stopped himself to avoid being impaled on the blade Kaiser created. He then surveyed the room before spotting Skitter. Lung laughed before lunging at Skitter only to be intercepted by Judas. He tossed the dog across the room and then hurled Angelica at it. He was then blocked by a barrier of blades before he tried to jump up to the rafters. He was slammed back to the ground by a steel pillar before Kaiser trapped him inside a pyramid of blades. Lung softened the metal and tore his way free before another pillar carried him to the opposite side of the room. He went after Kaiser, sidestepping an outcropping of blades, and was beaten back by Fenja and Menja. He directed flame at them only for one of the twins to block it before Skitter directed her insects at him. He raised a hand against Sundancer's sun only for his legs to buckle as she moved it closer. Kaiser pushed him towards the sun and he fell into the molten asphalt underneath it before Kaiser impaled him through the heart. Lung removed the spear and snapped it with his claws before standing up. He lunged at Kaiser and flew over his blades before slamming Kaiser against the wall a few times. He detonated and drove Fenja and Menja back before driving his hand into Menja's gut. He stopped Sundancer from using her power and sent a torrent of flames at her, backhanding her once the flames died and she was revealed to be unhurt. He then turned to Skitter, laughed, and killed her insects with a rush of flames. He grabbed Bitch from Brutus' back and grabbed the dog by the neck, throwing the dog aside. When Angelica and Judas rushed forward, he stopped them by threatening to harm Bitch. He then picked up Skitter and dropped Bitch to deal with a fly near his eye only to then step on her to prevent her from escaping. Skitter managed to escape before he fell forward due to the hallucinogenic blood that Skitter had coated her insect with. She then finished it by carving his eyes out. Lung was later seen in a photograph showing a subordinate leading him through the Docks. Tangle 6.2 He was later brought into PRT custody and sentenced to the Birdcage. Tangle 6.4 Lung was restrained and put into a van alongside Paige Mcabee and Bakuda. Bakuda goaded him into using his power to heat a few pieces of metal. He made a plan to use Paige's power to control the people who would transfer them into the Birdcage and free them only to be dragged out of the van by metallic arms. He was then told by Dragon what the Birdcage was and his chances of escaping before he was transported into the prison. Lung later traveled to the hole between the male and female sections of the prison and bribed the guard with some cigarettes. He then gave some cigarettes to a group of guards as a gift for Glaistig Uaine. After reaching Bakuda's cell, he informed her of the four ways a person could survive in prison. She threatened to kill the both of them if he came any closer to her before he told her that she wouldn't be fast enough to stop him. He killed her and then went on to murder three other prisoners, one of whom was the second person ever incarcerated in the Birdcage. Lung later had dinner with Marquis. He was annoyed with how Marquis had run his own organization and then argued that Marquis controlled people through fear. He then accused Marquis of wanting something before he told Marquis about his daughter and what had been going on in Brockton Bay.Interlude 10.5 (Bonus) After Amy Dallon was sentenced to the Birdcage, he began to lose respect for Marquis and wondered if he would be able to see things through. Interlude 16 (Donation Bonus #3) Lung was present during a meeting to discuss what Amy had discovered. He listened as Teacher questioned her about it and how that correlated to the Endbringers. Marquis suggested that they attempt a breakout before Spruce entered and told them that there was big news. He learned that Skitter had killed Alexandria before Cinderhands asked him about her. He told him that she had beat him twice though he was captured by others. He watched as Skitter stepped onto the screen and revealed her new identity before Teacher asked him if he felt reassured. He told Teacher that he had lost to her because of an underhanded trick. Listening to Skitter's speech, he noted that she was stronger before and agreed with Marquis that the line between something noble or foolish was a thin one. Teacher asked him for a word and Lung followed him out of Marquis' cell block. Teacher said that he could be useful to Lung and Lung told him that he had nothing to give him. He listened as Teacher told him about his power before saying that it came at the cost of a person's independence and that wasn't something he wanted. Teacher then told him that the reason they had been captured was because they lacked something that the others lacked before saying that his power required a certain mental state. Lung agreed, but said that he wouldn't let Amy use her power on him before Teacher offered to give him the ability to control when he changed. Upon arriving in Teacher's cellblock, he looked at the prisoners there before Teacher told him how they could "unlock" his power. Teacher asked if he and Marquis were friends and Lung agreed that he was a peer. He listened as Teacher explained how Dragon watched them and how he was able to get into contact with Saint before asking if they would use that to escape. Teacher told him that they would wait until they were let out of the Birdcage for the assistance they could give and told Teacher he had no attachment to the current state of things. He then agreed with Teacher to have Saint manipulate things so that they could go free before saying that his power would be left alone. He told Teacher he would kill him for trying to mess with him before saying that he didn't care what Teacher did. He then went on to say that he would work with Teacher for a time if he went free before he left. Lung returned to Marquis' cell block and found himself surprised when Marquis offered him a seat and some tea. He thought about telling Marquis what Teacher had planned before deciding not to, instead commenting about the tea before going silent.Interlude 22.y Golden Morning Lung was later released alongside several other prisoners to combat Scion. Upon stepping through the portal, he looked around at those that had gathered and stared at Skitter, Bitch, and Grue before Panacea stepped out of another portal and talked with her for a moment.Extinction 27.3 Later, Lung and Spruce led Bonesaw to where Amy and Marquis were treating people. He pushed her and then told her not to be cutesy, telling her that they had warned her about that before. She reluctantly agreed before asking where he wanted her to go and he pointed before taking her there. Once Bonesaw was beside Amy, he placed his hand on her head and arrested her forward momentum. He asked if those gathered were going to fight before Skitter told him that they would fight anything in their way. Tattletale said that they would be fighting Scion, the Endbringers, and the Yangban and Lung told her she didn't need to manipulate him as he would fight if she asked him to. When Skitter nodded, he told them that he was going to collect his mask before he left. Lung then entered the Door Skitter had created and spotted Shadow Stalker. He said that he remembered her and that her arrows hadn't hurt him before wondering why they would waste time with a weakling like her. After Skitter convinced Shadow Stalker to come with them and opened another Door, he shouldered his way past Bitch to be the first one inside. After Shadow Stalker learned what they were doing and threatened to kill them if they didn't turn the ship around, he shoved her against the side of the ship. Shadow Stalker used her power to escape before Imp pinned her down with a length of wire. She then asked Lung if he was okay with what they were doing and he said that he did.Cockroaches 28.3 When Skitter told them that they had arrived, Lung fell silent. He listened as Tattletale tried communicating with the Simurgh before thinking to use their powers to communicate. He agreed with Shadow Stalker about the situation being ridiculous and Tattletale agreed with him before going on to say that the Endbringer might give them credit for trying. He told her that Endbringers didn't give credit, repeated his earlier statement of it being ridiculous, and told her that she had stopped in the middle of a conversation. He then gave Skitter a funny look when she said the thought of provoking the Simurgh was frightening. Later, when Bitch said that they might be able to fight Scion with the Simurgh, he agreed with her. He then told them he had seen them when they tried something big and failed.Cockroaches 28.4 Later, Lung watched the Simurgh attack Leviathan before asking what happened. Tattletale told him that the Simurgh had upgraded Leviathan. He then listened as Skitter and Tattletale talked with Doctor Mother and explained their actions. He learned that Khonsu had imprinted on Teacher's group.Cockroaches 28.5 Lung stayed in Brockton Bay with Miss Militia while the others in his group had said goodbye and made arrangements. He later joined the fight and was seen by Skitter amongst those that had been given artificial limb replacements by King of Cups. Sometime afterward, he limped forward and shouted for someone to removal the artificial leg as he couldn't affect it with his power. After King of Cups' death, Lung's regeneration made up for his lost limb. He joined the fray, supporting Glaistig Uaine as she flew over the battlefield to access the injured and dead. Lung later attacked Scion when his back was turned and plunged him into the molten sand. His regeneration made up for the damage that Scion's golden light caused him and his flames swelled in reaction to how the light intensified. Scion pulled him down and rose up only for the others to attack him. He then attacked Scion again when he hit the ground. Scion fought his way free and then struck Lung aside. When Bastard crashed into Lung, Lung grabbed him and threw the wolf at Scion.Venom 29.2 Lung was present for Khepri's transformation, but did little. He was briefly caught in her power, helping the others to understand what she could do.Speck 30.2 He would be deployed against Zion during the ensuing conflict. and present at the final conflict in New York. Trivia * Lung's codename is a reference to the dragons of Eastern mythology, which are known as the L''óng or the ''Lung, usually with a prefix or suffix, such as T'ien-lung or Lung-wang.'' ''The reason for taking this codename is likely his resemblance to dragons after he's transformed, with scales, wings (eventually) and the ability to produce flame (though it bears noting that dragons from Eastern mythology don't necessarily breathe fire). Lung may have taken this name because Dragon was already in use (see Dragon), because of racial pride or because of a combination of the two.Edit by Wildbow * Lung's page on Parahumans Online redirected to the page on the ABB.Insinuation 2.2 Fanart Gallery File:Lung_by_lonsheep-darj8gl.png|Image by babylonsheep on SpaceBattles. ABB.png|Image by aerryi on DeviantArt. tumblr_n8ff1qRua31txp8gjo1_1280.jpg|Image by wolfofragnarok on DeviantArt Tumblr nnjwrng2pc1tge44yo1 1280.jpg|Image by wolfofragnarok on DeviantArt lung_by_kesha9-d9eqk4x.png|Image by kesha9 on DeviantArt. 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